


Screaming Beauty

by panda013 (Amiria_Raven)



Series: Panda Does The Thing [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, idea from tumblr, screaming reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 20:54:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6300043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amiria_Raven/pseuds/panda013
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She had two minutes. Two minutes to find a place to leave him where he would be safe. Two minutes to get away from him so she wouldn’t find out his identity. Two minutes. She has two minutes before everything she’s fought to conceal for the last couple of years comes to the surface in a way that she never wanted to happen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Screaming Beauty

**Author's Note:**

> This was from something that [catch-the-ghost](http://catch-the-ghost.tumblr.com) on tumblr came up with! I just expanded on it and this is what happened! :)
> 
> AKA Panda does the thing--again.

_“Tired of not having time to do the things that you want to? Annoyed with all of the school work and extracurriculars that keep you awake at night?”_

_Hawkmoth smirked, feeling the newest victim nodding._

_“I can help you with that. All I ask in return is that you bring me the Miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir!”_

_The faint whisper, “I accept, Hawkmoth,” ghosted across his senses and he grinned._

_“Then go, and bring me their Miraculous, Sleeping Beauty!”_

* * *

Marinette yawned, quickly stifling it with her hand. Alya cast her an amused glance from her seat and Marinette shrugged sheepishly. The redhead was used to her friend being perpetually tired, or late, so she just shrugged and turned to face Mme. Bustier at the front of the room once more. The lecture today was incredibly in-depth, after all, and if she didn’t get the notes, Marinette might be in a bit of a pickle. Physics was one of her worst subjects, after all.

The dark-haired girl almost missed the loud voices from the hallway, but when she finally heard them they were silenced, followed by a _thump_ which was muffled by the door.

Suddenly, she felt wide awake. Her blue eyes flitted around the room, searching for a possible distraction, a way to convince the teacher that she had to use the bathroom or something so she could check it out, but she found nothing. She’d used the bathroom excuse way too many times for it to be feasible, but she sucked in a breath and prepared to raise her hand.

Marinette was nothing if not dedicated, after all.

But she didn’t get a chance, because at that moment, the door to the room opened. Mme. Bustier froze, her lecture stalling, and turned to the intruder with her hands on her hips. The girl in the doorway grinned almost sweetly—if it weren’t for the delicate vine markings around her eyes that were hauntingly similar to a mask.

“Akuma!” Alya’s breath confirmed Marinette’s suspicions, and if it hadn’t, then the way that Mme. Bustier’s eyes rolled back in her head and she crumpled to the floor in an instant, halfway through giving the girl an earful, was confirmation enough.

“Get down!” Marinette pulled Alya off of her seat and under the desk as the new akuma started shooting her golden beams towards their classmates.

She saw Chloe slump to her desk, unconscious, and fear pierced Marinette’s heart. It was a good thing that Adrien wasn’t here, though, because that meant she didn’t have to worry about him, too. But the way Kim toppled backwards off his chair, across the aisle, made Marinette jump. She stared at him, but she saw his chest rising and falling and to her surprise, soon she heard a soft snore.

_She’s putting everyone to sleep!_

“Stressed out?” her voice was soothing, like honey, and Marinette fought the way her eyelids immediately started to droop. “Haven’t been getting enough sleep? Never you fear, my little friends, because that’s why Sleeping Beauty is here!”

As she spoke, Max crashed to the ground next to Kim and Marinette heard a similar thud from behind her—Ivan’s hand fell into her vision from around the corner of his desk.

The clack of the possessed girl’s high heels sounded, and Marinette tensed under her desk.

_I can’t be caught here! If she puts me to sleep, there won’t be anyone to make things right!_

The pointed shoe came into view, along with one of the tattered edges of her knee-lenth, colorful dress, and Marinette sucked in a breath. This was it, then—somehow, while she was out, she just knew she’d lose her Miraculous and that would be the end of it.

But then…then a voice that sent relief washing through her system sounded, loud and cocky as ever.

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty! If you’re so tired, why don’t you go to bed?”

A familiar silver baton had been extended, and was conveniently stretched in front of where Marinette hid. She heard Alya’s soft sigh of relief as, just seconds later, the baton shifted and suddenly, in front of them, stood Chat Noir. The designer couldn’t stifle her soft squeak in time and she reached up to cover her mouth with her hands as Chat Noir glanced down at her and then Alya in surprise. He cast a wink her direction before leaping forward, down the steps at Sleeping Beauty, and out of sight.

“C’mon, Mari, let’s _go_ ,” Alya reached for her friend’s wrist and Marinette didn’t protest as they joined the few of their classmates who were still awake in a rush to leave the room.

“Tired? There’s a _nap_ for that!” Chat’s voice rang as they burst into the hallway. As Marinette glanced back, the window of the door was obscured by a shower of gold just as Juleka darted through, the last of the awake members of their class.

As they made their way down the hall, with a well-practiced move and a silent apology, Marinette twisted her hand from Alya’s grasp and ducked into the bathroom. She heard Alya call out for her, but Nino would handle it. He’d been at the front of the group escaping the room, after all. He was usually pretty good at getting Alya away from the mess…but Ladybug would have to assure them that Marinette was safe before they’d get to safety themselves.

With a grimace, she hurriedly checked the stalls before calling on Tikki.

* * *

Sleeping Beauty posed a little more of a problem than either hero had really anticipated. She had the power to put anyone to sleep instantly with just a beam of golden light, and she had used that to her advantage to distract the heroes. More than once, she’d put the driver of a car asleep, or put someone fleeing across the street into a deep slumber in front of a moving car. A street performer on tall stilts had been put to sleep and nearly fallen into traffic, but only Chat Noir’s timely baton placement had kept him upright long enough for them to redirect his fall.

The icing on the cake, though, was when Chat used Cataclysm to redirect a bus so it wouldn’t hit the gaggle of school kids that had fallen asleep in the street. The way he clawed the street in an arc so the bus would curve was just enough that the bus didn’t overturn and bought Ladybug the time she needed to get the sleeping kids off the street and onto a nearby park bench.

While their backs were turned, however, Sleeping Beauty had sensed an opportunity to strike.

“I could do this with my eyes closed!” Chat’s voice proclaimed as he stood straight, preparing to turn back to assist before he had to leave. “Why don’t you try, Slee—“

His words cut off. No sound of force, but all Ladybug had to do was jerk her head up to watch as he fell to the ground in an unconscious heap.

“Chat!” she lunged, her yo-yo wrapping around a lamppost as Sleeping Beauty began to advance on her fallen partner. When she landed next to him, she heard a familiar beep and glanced down with horror at the ring on his finger.

Before she could think any better of it, Ladybug heaved Chat over her shoulder. Dodging another golden beam of sleep, she tossed her yo-yo to another lamppost and lifted herself and her partner away. Her next trip took them to the roofs, and she continued to flee.

“Where do I take him?” she asked herself breathlessly, coming to a halt atop the hotel. “ _Where do I take him?_!”

His Miraculous beeped again—he had two dots left. Only two.

She had two minutes. Two minutes to find a place to leave him where he would be safe. Two minutes to get away from him so she wouldn’t find out his identity. Two minutes. She has two minutes before everything she’s fought to conceal for the last couple of years comes to the surface in a way that she never wanted to happen.

And then it hit her.

_I can take him to my room! Chat Noir knows Marinette, and he thinks that I’m on good terms with ‘her’. If I take him to my room it should be fine! My parents don’t check on me that often and when I purify the akuma he’ll wake up anyway, and leave before ‘Marinette’ comes back!_

With a minute to spare, she lowers him none too gently through her skylight, leaving him in a heap on her bed with his tail in the air as she turned towards the last place she had seen Sleeping Beauty.

She was going to resolve this, and she was going to do it _now_.

* * *

Adrien groaned, blinking his eyes as he struggled through the fuzzy feelings of waking of from a deep sleep. He stirred, rolling to his side and mumbling to himself about oversleeping. He was always too tired when he had too much sleep.

“That’s it, kid, wake up!” Plagg’s voice sounded as though it was being muffled, almost like he was speaking through a wall.

“What time is it?” Adrien muttered, pushing himself to a sitting position. He reached up to run a hand through his hair before opening his eyes blearily and blinking when an abundance of pink met his vision. “Wait…where am I? How did I even get…wait, the akuma!” Adrien shot up off the bed, turning his head quickly in either direction until, with a jolt, he recognized where he was.

“’Bout time you woke up! It must mean Ladybug purified the akuma!” Plagg settled on his shoulder, but Adrien ignored the kwami.

“But…how did I get in _Marinette’s_ room?!” he breathed, his eyes flitting from place to place. And then it hits him. “Oh no. Oh, no, no, no, no, _no_!” his hands flew to his head, each gripping a handful of his well-kept blond locks. “Ladybug saw me transform. She _must_ have seen me transform! _Shit_! She didn’t _want_ to know who I was, but now she must know who I am! But why would she bring me to Marinette’s room? There’s no— _wait_!”

He gasped, and Plagg cackled at his charge’s dramatics, hovering amusedly near the skylight.

“Maybe she’s trying to tell me that she’s _Marinette_!” he looked to his kwami for confirmation, but all the black cat could do was laugh, so he continued his thoughts. “Maybe, since she feels guilty about finding out who I am, she’s trying to return the favor!”

“Well,” Plagg tried valiantly to cease laughing long enough to speak, “regardless, haha, don’t you think we should, ha, go? Before, y’know, hahaha, the girl comes back and finds you in her room? Just in case you’re wrong?”

Adrien deflated a little, but not entirely. “Fine, Plagg. I’ve got your bad luck anyway, so you might be right!”

But Adrien wasn’t going to leave it there. Not by a long shot.

* * *

When Marinette got back to her room to find that Chat had left, she let out a soft sigh of relief. She didn’t want to deal with whoever was behind the mask, or the knowledge of it at least. Not right now. All she really wanted to do was take a nap, funnily enough, and so that’s just what she did.

The rest of the night went as expected. The next few days of school, though? They were some of the strangest days she’d faced yet.

First, she was greeted with an enthusiastic, “Good morning, Marinette!” as soon as she had started up the school steps. She glanced up to greet whoever had spoken to her and froze, staring into the bright green eyes of Adrien Agreste. She felt her jaw open and close a few times as she tried to find words, and Adrien continued, “I heard about the akuma yesterday! Are you okay?”

“Oh, y-yeah!” she managed, waving her hand dismissively as she internally melted. _Adrien_ was talking to _her_. “I-I-I’m grine. I-I mean great! You’re great! I mean, _I’m_ great! I’m fine! I mean, not that you’re _not_ , but you asked and I, um…” she felt the red blossoming across her cheeks and decided to stop digging her grave even deeper. The shallower, the better, no matter how much she wanted to hide right now.

“I’m glad to hear it,” he smiled warmly at her, and her knees shook a little. “Want to walk to class together?” he gestured to the door, and her heart soared.

“O-okay!” she managed, unable to keep holding eye contact as her heartbeat resounded in her ears.

And then, to her amazement, Adrien continued to talk to her as they made their way to class. Asking her about her parents and how they were, asking if she’d played any _Mecha Strike III_ lately and even if she’d be up for a few games sometime—her answer had been an overenthusiastic _yes_ , of course, which had mortified her—and then he’d even mentioned that maybe they could study together sometime, because Nino had mentioned that they were all struggling in Physics and that was Adrien’s best and favorite subject.

She tries to respond coherently. Really, she does.

Throughout the day, he asks her what her favorite color is. If she likes flowers. When her birthday is and what she’d like. How long she and Alya have been friends. He asked if she liked croissants or cookies better. Dogs or cats? If she preferred rainy days or sunny days. The questions kept coming, culminating in him wondering if she knew just how cute her freckles are, accompanied by a very flirtatious wink—she had to excuse herself to the bathroom and Alya quickly followed as Marinette squeaked incoherently for the next ten minutes.

Adrien didn’t show interest in normal girls like Marinette…so why was it that she literally couldn’t get away from him? Not that she _wanted_ to get away, of course, but his sudden attention was close to short-circuiting her.

* * *

A few days after it all started, he met her at the steps once again and, with a teasing grin and a wink, he gave a partial bow with an unnecessary flourish and greeted her with, “Good morning, Princess! It’s a purrfectly nice day, wouldn’t you agree?”

She almost snapped at him like she would with Chat Noir, because she’d been seeing some slightly similar quirks in the last few days that had made her a little more comfortable with Adrien’s attention. She caught herself at the last minute, though, appalled at the thought. She couldn’t treat _Adrien_ like she treated _Chat Noir_!

“Y-yeah, it’s nice…but cat puns?” she chose to take a light, teasing tone, quirking an eyebrow.

“I’m pawsitive they’ll grow on you,” he winked, swiping her hand and placing a light kiss on the back of her hand before she could react. The wind ruffled his hair and for a moment she thought she was seeing a boy clad in black leather, but she forced the thought out of her head as her face started to burn and she started to stutter.

“I-I can’t b-believe you ch-chose _cat_ puns!” she finally managed, turning to march up the steps to hide her blush from the blond behind her.

“I’m just feline it today,” he had come up beside her, smirking a little and giving her a shrug when she glanced at him.

She groaned and continued up the stairs, followed by his laughter.

* * *

“Mornin’!” Adrien greeted her as she walked into the classroom on Friday, officially a week and a half since his attention had zeroed in on her and Alya had begun her incessant teasing.

“Hi, Adrien,” Marinette greeted him with a smile. She was early for once, and the only other people in the room aside from the two of them were Rose, Juleka, and Alya. Alya grinned as Marinette took her seat and Adrien spun around to face her, bright smile in place.

“I had a few questions about the bakery,” he said, leaning on the back of his chair and looking up at her with hope in his eyes.

“I-I’ll answer if I can,” she smiled, a little uncertain.

“Well, I was wondering if you offered classes? I wanted to learn to bake, but me in a kitchen right now is a recipe for disaster.”

Marinette blinked, and then narrowed her eyes. “Did you just…you _didn’t_!” she groaned.

“No knead to get so salty!” Adrien winked to show he was playing around. “I just wanted to know rye I’m bread weight in a kitchen!”

“Adrien, _stop_ ,” Marinette pleaded, though a grin twitched the corner of her lips.

“Ah, c’mon, Mari! Just _roll_ with it!”

She groaned again, her forehead pressed to the desk as she pleaded, “No more, Adrien!”

“Are you gonna say peas?”

So he’d expanded from primarily baking puns. He hadn’t even used her father’s favorite, and before she could help herself, Marinette found herself replying, “It’s the _yeast_ I could do.”

Although it was under her breath, Adrien’s eyes lit up and he started to laugh. It was a laugh she hadn’t seen in ages, and she felt a fluttering of happiness deep in the pit of her stomach at the smile on his face. She knew, though, that she had to talk to him.

His sudden attention was extremely flattering, but she wanted to know _why_.

“Seriously, though, Adrien,” she finally says, tentatively, as Nino walks in the room, raising an eyebrow to Alya as he gestured to the oblivious duo. “I, uh, was w-wondering w-why you started to t-talk to me s-so much lately?” her confidence had failed her, and she stumbled to correct it. “I-I mean, you’re amazing— _it’s amazing!_ —but it was j-just so sudden, and I…well, we never really each other to talked— _talked to each other_ , sorry!—and it’s just that I was c-curious?”

Adrien laughed a little sheepishly and reached a hand up to scratch the back of his head. He glanced at the clock and his expression fell a little bit. It was almost time for class to start, so Marinette completely knew the feeling, but she hoped he wasn’t sad because she was questioning their recent friendship.

“Well, it’s kind of something I want to talk to you about in more detail. Can I talk to you alone at lunch?”

Her breath hitched as Nino and Alya both started making some suggestive faces that only she could see. She flushed darker and only trusted herself to nod. Adrien beamed and then, with a teasing lilt to his voice and at a volume only she could hear, he said, “That’s _grine_!”

Marinette flushed even more and groaned again.

* * *

When lunch rolled around, the group ate together as had become their custom, but then Adrien stood up and glanced to Marinette, communicating with his eyes. She excused herself to follow and they made their way from the park where they were all eating to a place just around the corner of the school.

Marinette wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but the hopes of romance and confessions couldn’t be quashed. She followed him almost nervously, and when they crossed a street his fingers lightly wrapped around her wrist because they were running out of time on the crosswalk and they jogged across together. The warmth of his fingers stayed as they found the spot and then he released her, taking a few steps to turn and face her.

_Does he really like me?_

The hopeful voice inside Marinette wouldn’t be silenced. But then he fidgets and his mouth opens, and she loses the daydream so she can listen to what he says.

“D-do you remember the other day when you left me in your room after the akuma attack?”

 _That_ was not what she had expected. And it was really confusing. The last akuma attack had been Sleeping Beauty, and she hadn’t left _Adrien_ in her room. It had been _Chat Noir_ and she’d been—oh. Oh.

_Oh!_

Her brain struggled to catch up, but she was there. She saw his eyes widen in reaction to the way hers did, and as the final piece clicked into place, the wind gusted and messed up his hair. It was all she needed to confirm the whisper in her mind.

_Ladybug left Chat Noir in my room. Chat Noir woke up in my room. Adrien woke up in my room. Chat Noir is Adrien. Ladybug left Adrien in my room. I’M LADYBUG AND I LEFT ADRIEN IN MY ROOM AND HE SOMEHOW FIGURED IT OUT FROM THAT?!_

She didn’t know how to cope with this information. There was only one other option.

She stared at Adrien, her jaw dropped, and she screamed.

* * *

Adrien stared blankly at the screaming girl in front of him for several seconds before two things hit him with the blunt force of every akuma he’d ever faced.

The first was that she hadn’t stayed around long enough to see his transformation wear away.

The second was that she hadn’t expected tossing him in her room would be enough to reveal her identity.

And then Adrien’s jaw dropped and his hands came up to grasp her shoulders and he started to scream, too, because it’s all he could think to do. His Lady is Marinette, and she’s screaming, so her loyal Knight, her personal Kitty Cat, screamed, too.

Logically, her screams were probably because she was feeling the full force of the revelation now, when he’d had over a week to process it.

Logic didn’t help when the superhero love of your life was your classmate and was screaming in your face.

* * *

 

At the shouts, Nino and Alya quickened their pace to find their friends. Class would be starting soon and they had to figure it out now. Had they been targeted by an akuma? Had they seen a spider or something? Were they being attacked by a mugger?

But no. As they rounded the corner in a hurry, Alya saw the duo clinging to each other, Marinette’s hands fisted in Adrien’s shirt and his hands on her shoulders, just screaming at each other wordlessly.

“What the hell…?” Nino gaped, screeching to a halt as he stared at their best friends.

“Nino,” Alya sighed, slapping her palm to her forehead, “I have never doubted that Marinette had the ability to screw things up this badly.”

“At least they’re holding each other?” Nino suggested weakly as the screaming duo paused in unison, sucked in a few breaths, and then started wordlessly screaming at each other again.

“Yeah, at least it doesn’t look like they’re mad or anything. They just look confused?” Alya’s head tilted to the side as she watched her best friend make herself and her crush look like fools behind the school. If they didn’t stop soon, a teacher or something would come see what was up. “Anyway, let’s break them apart and tell them they can continue their odd mating ritual later, before they get in trouble for ruining the peace.”

Nino laughed and heartily agreed, following his girlfriend as she made her way forward.

Their crazy best friends were still screaming.


End file.
